हवाई-जहाज़ (aka Plane...I think)

Somehow I managed to pack what my life should/would consist of for 4 months. I found it is very easy to become crabby and frustrated trying to determine the fate of one’s fashion and hygiene for 4 of months unknown circumstances. Luckily my lifesaver roommate had a bag that was bigger than the one I was planning to take. So I was able to use that. However, it did nothing to help me lower my packing material because when I reached the airport to check my massive bag I found that it was 7lbs over. Fabulous. This then put me in the position of moving items to my carry on which was pretty plum full already, calling my boyfriend Andy to drive back to the airport and ditch some items or pay a grand $50.  And $50 it was. I better not regret bringing anything.

This should last me 4 months...NOT!

3hrs and 30 minutes, 2093 miles to my destination: Delhi, India. I’ve traveled 5655 miles so far, and not going to lie it seemed to go by pretty fast. Sleep sleep and more sleep. I’m totally OK with that. I had planned to read the homework packet, supposedly 30 hrs of reading, that was given to me to get it over with since I neglected it over my break, but I failed miserably at that. Oops.

I met the girls who are in my program on our flight from Newark to Delhi. No boys going to India, I’m also totally OK with that. I think we’ll get along just fine. It’s weird to think they’ll become some of my best friends in the next few months and I barely know them.

August 15^th. For those of you who are smart, you would know that this gracious day is the day I graced you all with my wonderful presence, a.k.a the day I was born. August 15^th is also India’s independence day. Ironic eh?

While waiting at the gate to go to Delhi a little Indian boy started to play with us. He was so cute, and his smile was from ear to ear. He gave me a salty chip as some sort of gift, and when I told him I liked his shirt that said, “Roasted Marshmallows,” and had a little marshmallow man on it with flames on his head, the little boy got pretty defensive. I’m pretty sure he thought I wanted him to give that to me too. That was the end of our 5-minute friendship.

As soon as the words, “We will now begin boarding our Elite Class (First Class),” absolutely everyone herded to the front. No line was formed and everyone squished as close to the front as possible. The attendant had to yell for everyone to step back like they were the crazy shopping ladies who want that $299, 50’in HD TV on Black Friday. Either everyone was really excited to get on the 14hr plane ride and sit really close to complete strangers, or that’s just what Indians do. I’m going to go with the second guess, mad chaos.

There is no toilet paper in the bathroom and no tampons are sold. 4 months of showering out of a bucket, and only eating food where I can see steam rising. Mentally preparing for this journey is damn near impossible. Especially when you’ve had about 5 phone calls in the past months with your estranged birth father and his wife, in hopes of meeting a family you’ve never met. I know I have to try, and yet I have not a clue exactly why. An epic change in my life? To fill the gap of a ‘family’ I never knew? To learn more about India? Maybe all, maybe none. Am I expecting to find solace in who I am, or just doing this to make more craziness in my life?

Only a few more hours until I begin some sort of journey, of which the outcome is totally unknown. Maybe I should start reading that packet…